Express-Scripts plans $56 million expansion and 1,500 new jobs over five years

St. Louis is headed to the top ten in college attainment.

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A pillar of our economic development strategy is that, “We will win on today’s regional strengths in focused economic clusters. Explore in detail the four sectors that we believe will shape our region’s future.

“The Banker” … from Central Park West to Washington Avenue

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We’ve condensed a detailed three-year plan into a single paragraph we call our Strategy Statement. It’s all about priorities and direction.

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Our research team has probably answered almost any question that could be asked regarding the St. Louis region. If you can't find it in our Regional Data section, please send a note to Tim Alexander at talexander@stlregionalchamber.com.

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Inner City Capital Connections Program has come to St. Louis. To date, this program has helped 837 different businesses raise over $1.32 billion in capital and create over 11,000 jobs in the inner city. Read more about the program on our blog.

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We believe nothing is more important in St. Louis than achieving Top 10 status in college attainment among the nation's largest metros. Visit www.topteneducation.org to follow our progress.

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If your company represents growth potential for the region -- or you know of other companies that do -- we'd be pleased to help however we can. Please contact Jim Alexander at jalexander@stlregionalchamber.com

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St. Louis is home to 16 Fortune 1000 companies and some of the largest private firms in the U.S.; but don't overlook the ever increasing number of high growth small-to-medium enterprises and startups. Click here for a quick summary.

St. Louis Press Pass

After acquiring several craft breweries, Anheuser-Busch InBev is increasing its investment in its U.S. brewing, agriculture, packaging and distribution operations to more than $1.5 billion during the next three years, including $162 million locally. Of the $1.5 billion it will pump into its facilities from 2015 through 2017, the world's largest brewer plans to spent $850 million on brewery and packaging expansion, $220 million on product innovation and $720 million on efficiency enhancements at its existing facilities, A-B InBev said Tuesday.>> CLICK FOR MORE

Milestone Marked in Partnership (Alton Daily News, 6/24/15)

Nearly $10-million in grant money from the federal government is coming to SIU-Edwardsville as it seeks to keep churning out students with skills geared toward new and emerging technologies. Teaming with Lewis & Clark Community College in Godfrey and several other community colleges around the state, a milestone was marked on Tuesday as educators and elected officials gathered at the University’s Corn to Ethanol Research Center. >> CLICK FOR MORE

Alton promotional group will get support from city, Convention and Visitors bureau(St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 6/25/15)

A group that promotes economic development and historic preservation in Alton will continue to receive some funding from the city, along with support from the Convention and Visitors Bureau. >> CLICK FOR MORE

Norse is among 20 of the world’s most promising cybersecurity solutions for 2015, according to CIO Review, a technology review magazine near Silicon Valley. Norse is the cybersecurity company that has one of its two offices in St. Louis and is among the best at tracking live attack intelligence.>> CLICK FOR MORE

St. Louis one of 10 ‘surprising’ tech hubs in U.S(St. Louis Business Journal, 6/22/15)

Employers such as BJC HealthCare, Boeing, Washington University, Scott Air Force Base and Saint Louis University are driving tech employment in the St. Louis area. Enough so that one blogger has identified St. Louis as one of 10 surprising tech hubs around the country. >> CLICK FOR MORE

Wages flat but employers are hiring in St. Louis (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 6/23/15)

Wages aren't growing in metro St. Louis, despite a moderate unemployment rate and employers who seem ready to hire. That's the takeaway from the “Burgundy Book” report on the area's economy during the first quarter from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. >> CLICK FOR MORE

Tim Hayden, Saint Louis University’s director of the Center for Entrepreneurship, has launched a new sports business accelerator called Stadia Ventures that will publicly launch Friday night at the Cambridge Innovation Center in Cortex.
Stadia, also founded by former Rawlings executive Art Chou, will invest $100,000 in sports related startups twice a year and pair them with mentors in the region. >> CLICK FOR MORE

Where St. Louis millennials might want to work (St. Louis Business Journal, 6/23/15)

Fortune Magazine just released its first “100 Best Workplaces for Millennials” list, and three St. Louis-based companies made the cut. According to Fortune, the three companies where St. Louis millennials should start submitting their resumes are Edward Jones, World Wide Technology and Build-A-Bear Workshop.>> CLICK FOR MORE

St Louis-based fintech accelerator SixThirty is inviting applications for its Autumn cohort, where later seed-stage startups can draw down up to $100,000 in funding and participate in a 14-week mentorship and pipeline-building programme. Established in 2013, SixThirty has so far made 18 investments in 15 companies, including two international startups, and handed out over $1 million in funding.>> CLICK FOR MORE

Monsanto a best place to work in IT company: TechFlash 7 things(St. Louis Business Journal, 6/23/15)

Computerworld has named Monsanto Co. one of its Best Places to Work in IT. Monsanto ranks No. 24 on the 2015 list of the top 100 work environments for technology professionals, its fourth appearance on the list.>> CLICK FOR MORE

Startup Voodoo 2015 Wrap-Up (Techli, 6/22/15)

Startup Voodoo has come and gone, leaving the St. Louis startup scene with a lot to look forward to in the coming year. With over 500 registered attendees, and guest speakers from both in and out of town, the conference was a big success for the region. Attracting attendees from around the Midwest, Startup Voodoo grew significantly from last year. >> CLICK FOR MORE

Derrius Quarles, CEO and co-founder of the start-up company Million Dollar Scholar, narrowly escaped a path of crime growing up in the foster care system on the South Side of Chicago. However, a biology teacher saw potential in him and helped to change his trajectory. Ultimately, he was able to earn more than $1.1 million in scholarships and financial aid to attend Morehouse College in Atlanta. Now his company’s product, a financial-aid search software, hopes to help parents do the same for their college students. >> CLICK FOR MORE

Two Illinois startups are among 11 to receive $50,000 this summer from the nonprofit Arch Grants agency as part of its 2015 Global Startup Competition. The equity-free grants and pro bono support services are going to entrepreneurs as part of a competition that has become year-round. A second set of grants is being announced in November. >> CLICK FOR MORE

SunEdison and Samsung are selling off their remaining stakes in O’Fallon, Mo.,-based Sunedison Semiconductor, which together owned nearly 40 percent of the company. SunEdison Semiconductor announced Thursday 15.9 million shares would be offered to the public at a price of $18.25 per share. The maker of silicon products for the electronics industry won’t receive any proceeds from the sale. Underwriters are buying the shares at 73-cent discount, or $17.52 per share. >> CLICK FOR MORE

Corporate venture funds invested $663 million in payments startups over the past four quarters ending in the first quarter of this year — a 355 percent increase over the prior four-quarter period. If deal flow and dollars invested continue at the current pace, this year will be a record for such investment activity. That’s all according to CB Insights, a website that tracks venture capital activity. >> CLICK FOR MORE

Total Hockey, the Maryland Heights based hockey equipment retailer with 24 stores across the country, has acquired Denver-based hockey and lacrosse retailer, Players Bench Corp. Terms of the deal, which is expected to close over the next six months, weren’t immediately disclosed.>> CLICK FOR MORE

Demo Underway for Tech Shop (Construction Forum STL, 6/23/15)

Demolition is well underway at the corner of Forest Park and Boyle Avenues in the Cortex area for a new, three-story building that will serve as TechShop St. Louis’ new home, with TechShop occupying approximately 18,000 square feet on the first floor.The new 60,000 square-foot building will also provide additional space to house other technology-related companies. The site design includes a generous sidewalk with green space running along the building from Forest Park Avenue to the soon to be completed three-and-a-half acre Cortex Commons. There will also be an outdoor seating area to support a café on the south side of the building with views of the Commons. >> CLICK FOR MORE

New home sales hit seven-year high; more good news for housing market (St. Louis Business Journal, 6/23/15)

Sales of new single-family homes increased by more than 2 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 546,000. That’s the best sales number since February 2008 and is nearly 20 percent above the pace at which new homes were being sold a year ago. >> CLICK FOR MORE

St. Louis College of Pharmacy said Wednesday it's ready to start work on its next big project: A seven-story student center, residence hall and recreation facility. College officials hope to complete the $40 million project in December 2016. >> CLICK FOR MORE

Renderings for a new 500K sf administration building on the Washington University School of Medicine and BJC Healthcare campus in the city’s Central West End have been released. While a relatively straightforward structure, the investment immediately next to the district’s MetroLink light rail station is big step forward.>> CLICK FOR MORE

St. Louis's Crosslin among 10 'Champions of Change' honored at White House (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 6/24/15)

Anna Crosslin, president and chief executive of the International Institute of St. Louis, will be at the White House on Thursday to be recognized for her work with refugees. Crosslin is one of 10 who will be lauded through the "Champions For Change" program, which aims to honor those "making a difference in the lives of refugees in the U.S. and abroad.">> CLICK FOR MORE

ULI STL Re-visions Railway Exchange (Construction Forum STL, 6/23/15)

A vision for reenergizing the dormant Railway Exchange Building in downtown St. Louis is being evaluated following a first-ever collaboration of civic, real estate, design, and institutional professionals conducted by the Urban Land Institute St. Louis (ULI St. Louis) for Downtown STL, Inc. ULI St. Louis conducted a private development Technical Assistance Program (TAP) to determine how the building could be repurposed for market needs. >> CLICK FOR MORE

The Arch is only the beginning in St. Louis (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 6/24/15)

I’ve seen the Sistine Chapel in Rome, the gold-encrusted Church of Santo Domingo de Guzmán in Oaxaca and Notre Dame in Paris, among many other churches all over the world, but none took my breath away like the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis. My tour of this spectacular gem was recent, but, through the years, others have made similar assessments: Pope John Paul II visited in 1999 and said it was one of the most beautiful churches he’d ever seen. >> CLICK FOR MORE

Dance St. Louis marks its 50th anniversary — as one of only six remaining dance presenting organizations in the country — while it announces its full 2015-2016 season.The upcoming season features eight powerful, energetic and beautiful productions. >> CLICK FOR MORE

Making the world more flavorful and nutritious — one energy bar at a time (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 6/26/15)

Energy bars were Luis Rivero’s go-to meals when he came to the U.S. in 2003 for graduate school. With no time to cook, he quickly got caught up in the eat-on-the-run culture that was not as familiar in Venezuela. The bars, he noticed, were not particularly tasty, especially those high in protein. And he began to grow tired of the flavors. >> CLICK FOR MORE

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating disease with no cure. But research happening right now at Saint Louis University could increase the life span of ALS patients. A 63-year-old Shrewsbury man is one of three ALS patients in the St. Louis area to receive a new type of implant to combat respiratory insufficiency and assist in their breathing. >> CLICK FOR MORE

Salvation Army breaks ground on drug center (KSDK, 6/25/15)

The Salvation Army has broken ground on a drug and alcohol treatment center. The three-story facility on Washington will also have a walk-in clinic and counseling center. >> CLICK FOR MORE

Eastern Missouri’s Red Cross gets $5 million donation (KTRS, 6/26/15)

The family of the founder of Enterprise Rent-A-Car is donating $5 million to the American Red Cross of Eastern Missouri. The gift from Jack Taylor and his family will be used to upgrade Red Cross equipment for blood storage and screening, a new Bloodmobile collection vehicle, and seven new emergency food-distribution trucks. >> CLICK FOR MORE

St. Louis County libraries set to serve summer lunch to children (FOX 2, 6/17/15)

It’s hard to read books when you’re hungry. That’s why some St. Louis County libraries are providing free lunches to children during the summer breaks. Operation Food Search works tirelessly to fight hunger in more ways than one, fighting hunger with knowledge, empowerment and hope. That’s why Operations Food Search national anti-hunger leader Joel Berg paid a visit to St. Louis to stop by various meals sites. >> CLICK FOR MORE